Headlight/taillight only work when I press the foot brake

Hey guys,

I've got a 2000 XR 650R.

My headlight and taillight were both not working, so I replaced both the bulbs last night.

They still wouldn't work after I started the engine. I went for a ride up the street and discovered that the headlight and taillight both come on when I hit the foot brake. They turn back off when I release it.

They do not come on when I use the hand brake.

Is this a ground issue?

Possibly, but a multimeter set for Ohms should tell you this. Got one?

Solved.

A male white-with-yellow wire was connected to the blue wire coming from the brake pedal.

I hooked the white-with-yellow wire to the other two wires of the same color and left the blue wire disconnected, since I couldn't find anything to connect it to.

Now the headlight and taillight work all the time.

Brake light does not get any brighter when I hit the brake, but from what I can tell of the North American wiring diagram, that's by design.

flainn wrote:Solved.

A male white-with-yellow wire was connected to the blue wire coming from the brake pedal.

I hooked the white-with-yellow wire to the other two wires of the same color and left the blue wire disconnected, since I couldn't find anything to connect it to.

Now the headlight and taillight work all the time.

Brake light does not get any brighter when I hit the brake, but from what I can tell of the North American wiring diagram, that's by design.

If yours is a US bike it shouldn't have a brake light or switches...by design....just a dipped beam and tail light.